Two weeks ago, we covered a meta-analysis of 50 studies indicating that doubling the alcohol tax would reduce alcohol-related mortality by 35 percent. At Monday’s Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, the very same publication was referenced by Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph.D., in support of a tax increase to boost public health.
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After more than a year of delays, a long-awaited measure designed to give the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department more authority to enforce preventive measures against foodborne illness today passed a procedural vote in the Senate. By voting 74-25 for cloture, the Senate must now bring the Food Safety Modernization Act to a floor vote in 60 days.
Patients who are undergoing surgery will be relieved to learn that the FDA has approved Cadence Pharmaceuticals’ Ofirmev, an intravenous form of the pain reliever acetaminophen commonly prescribed along with more powerful but potentially dangerous opiates for post-surgical pain management. Acute pain — temporary discomfort that sets in rapidly, such as post-operative pain — often requires at least two painkillers for effective relief.
A new report produced by the Alzheimer's Foundation and Maria Shriver, California's first lady, concludes that women bear the biggest burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) — both as patients and caregivers. The report predicts that the rate of Alzheimer’s disease — a form of dementia and degenerative brain condition leading to memory loss, cognitive impairment, and ultimately death — will triple worldwide in the next 40 years due to an aging population that is living longer.
A new retrospective analysis by the U.S. government of all influenza vaccines administered to pregnant women over the past 20 years shows that they are quite safe.
Wendy s fries continue to lose taste tests to McDonald s, so they ve decided to reformulate for the first time in 41 years by upping the sodium content with sea salt. Compared with regular salt, sea salt has larger granules that pack more flavor with each dash, yet instead of adding less sea salt to achieve the same sodium levels, it s actually making their fries saltier.
In our October 15 Dispatch, we reported on an early breakthrough antiviral drug combination developed for oral treatment of patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The experimental drug RG7128 was predicted to clear HCV infection in 8-12 weeks with minimal signs of the relatively (very) unpleasant side effects of current treatments, or drug resistance.
Pregnant women may need to keep their hands off of Mr. Peanut if they don’t want to predispose their infants to an increased risk of peanut allergy. In a new study of 503 infants aged 3 to 15 months with suspected egg or milk allergies or with eczema and positive milk or egg allergy tests, blood tests revealed that 140 infants had a strong sensitivity to peanuts.
For the first time in 50 years, a new drug to treat lupus seems on the verge of coming onto the market. An FDA panel has voted 13-2 to recommend approval of Benlysta, used to treat sytemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus), an autoimmune condition.
Against our best efforts, the newest BPA headline and its accompanying “study” managed to worm its way into today’s Dispatch, but only as an example of the utterly absurd. “Bisphenol A linked to sterility in roundworm,” Canada’s CBC News tells us. But the study wasn’t a complete waste of time and money — some of us got a good laugh out of it. “I only wonder how much federal money — that’s your tax money, by the way — went towards this study.
In a similar display of regulatory overreach, California s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is revising the rules of a bill signed two years ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that allows the state to regulate toxic chemicals in consumer products.
Perhaps too many teenagers are spacing out during safe sex education courses, since the CDC’s 2009 STD Surveillance Report indicates that 19 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases occur annually, and active adolescents and young adults are at a significantly higher risk. Since physicians do not have to report cases of HPV or genital herpes, the total number of STDs is actually much higher.
The latest report from the CDC on mortality in the U.S. presented a mixed picture. Welcome news arrived with word that the incidence of stroke has declined such that it has dropped to the fourth-leading cause of death. It had been the third most common cause of death for the past five decades.
Researchers have stumbled upon an alternate explanation for the buildup of the protein amyloid β in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Secondhand smoke supposedly contributed to one percent of the worldwide mortality rate during the course of 2004, according to a study published in last week’s The Lancet.
If you were to view a map of the world and light up all of the countries who use biotechnology to generate more abundant and nutritious food supplies, all of Europe would be dark, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. This is the subject of an op-ed published in yesterday’s The Wall Street Journal by Irish agronomist and farmer Jim McCarthy.
Canadian Radio host Rob Breakenridge has a cogent op-ed in theCalgary Herald taking on various fears that have popped up in recent months, including BPA, cellphones, Wi-Fi and fluoridation. City officials in Waterloo, Ontario voted to stop fluoridation last week after a non-binding referendum lost by 195 votes out of 30,727 ballots cast.
Breakenridge writes:
Last week we brought you news of a Swedish study that reported eating 75 grams of chocolate could reduce hypertension by inhibiting a hormone produced by the kidney called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) that is a major factor in regulating blood pressure. But reader Dan Cullen of Princeton, N.J. wonders if dark chocolate has inhibited our customary skepticism. He crunched the numbers for us with some back-of-the-napkin calculations, comparing dark chocolate to the generic ACE inhibitor pill Ramipril.
In Wednesday’s Dispatch, ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross commented on the new Food Safety and Modernization Act that was recently approved by the Senate. Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, calls attention to an interesting point:
Starting yesterday, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) launched a pneumococcal vaccination campaign in Nicaragua that aims to prevent 700,000 deaths in poorer nations by 2015. Drug makers Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline signed a 10-year contract with GAVI and will supply 60 million doses of their pneumococcal shots — Pfizer’s Prevnar and GSK’s Synflorix — for a discounted price of $7 per dose for the first 20 percent and $3.50 per dose for the remaining 80 percent.
ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan refuses to let the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) spoil consumers holiday cheer with its alarmist attempts to create unnecessary panic over toxic chemicals in toys. In an op-ed published in yesterday s The Daily Caller, Dr. Whelan discredits PIRG s annual Trouble in Toyland report and provides parents with reliable holiday advice.
A new study appearing in today’s issue of JAMA, which examines 200 commonly-sold liquid non-prescription (OTC) medications for children, suggests that there is a serious problem of mislabeling with respect to dosage. In many cases, the study’s authors say, the dosage instructions on the label do not match the dosage measurements produced by using the product’s cap.
ACSH would like to commend James S. Fell’s Los Angeles Times article yesterday revealing and debunking the pseudoscience of “holistic nutrition.” Fell points to the lack of valid credentials held by holistic nutritionists and their obvious goal to sell supplements.
Introduction
As the year draws to a close, some of us will be reminded that olde acquaintance should not be forgot. So, before we can officially commence the New Year, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) would like to reflect upon this year past. We'd especially like to spend an extra moment considering what we hope the world will eventually learn to forget the most unfounded health scares of 2010.
Patients and doctors cheered in 2008, when the Food and Drug Administration approved Genentech s Avastin for treating women with advanced breast cancer. Scientists had found that in many cases, the drug could prolong life, and today doctors prescribe it to some 17,500 women a year as their last, best hope.
In July, though, the FDA s advisory board recommended revoking Avastin s approval, which would be a nearly unprecedented step. A final decision will likely come Friday, but the agency usually follows the board s recommendations.
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